The present invention is directed to breading machines which are used to coat food products with a breading material. In particular, the invention is directed to a breading machine which comprises an improved apparatus for uniformly distributing the breading material onto the food products.
Prior art breading machines are typically made to handle various types of breading materials, such as flour, free flowing breading materials and bread crumbs. Due to the differences in the flow characteristics of these materials, different distribution systems are required in order to achieve a uniform distribution of the breading material onto the food products.
Japanese style bread crumbs, which are commonly referred to as J crumbs, differ from flour and free flowing breading materials in that the individual J crumbs break down into smaller particles as they pass through the breading machine. The breakdown of the J crumbs increases the density of the material and thereby affects the flow characteristics of the material. This breakdown also requires that the fine and course crumbs be uniformly blended before they are distributed to the food products.
J crumb breading machines have historically utilized a chute and pan distribution system to evenly distribute the fine and course crumbs within the breading machine in an effort to achieve a uniform top and bottom layer of the breading material across the entire width of the conveyor belt. While this system has proven to be reasonably successful, it does require an experienced operator to set-up the machine.